Cartridge-shell extractor.



H. WALLACE.

CARTRIDGE SHELL EXTRACTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. I918.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

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' MEETS, T UNITED STATES MACHINE GUN COMPANY, OF 303'1ON,MASSAOHUfiETEI-B,

. A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CARTRIDGE-SHELL EXTRACTOR.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patnted'Aug. 13 1918 Applicationfiled February 9, 1918. Serial No. 818,146 I To all whom may concern: I

' Be it known thatI HERBERT WALLACE, a citizen of the United states ofAmerica, and

a resident of Springfield, county of Hampden, and State of assachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Cartridge-Shell Extractors, of which thefollowing descrip tion, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like characters on the drawings representing likeparts.

Ordinarily the automatic extractor with which modernrifles-or otherfirearms are pr vided extract the exploded shell without didlculty. Itsometimes happens, however, that, owing to breakage due to the explosionor some inherent weakness or other cause,

tit

the automatic extractor, which, as iswell known, grips the head of thecartridge at the rim, withdraws only the head orrear part of, theexploded shell, leavin the rest of the shell in the cartridge cham" r,generally berom the breech into the broken cartri shell, until its,forward end has emerged" bodiment of the 2, and

Fig. t

invention shown in Fig.

is a cross-section on line H of F g. 3. a V v he Illustrative embodimentof the inven- Y tion herein shown is adapted to be inserted gs from theforward end of the latter, said orward end being provided with means toen gage the forward edge of the shell when th us inserted, 'so that whenthe device is ,w'lthdrawn, 1t will, by said engagement with the forwardvedge of the shell withdraw the latter with it, means being provided tolock yond the reach of said'automatic extractor,

which thus becomes useless for thetime be 1 ing. Until the remainderofthe shell thus left in the gun is removed, thegun is useless, ,fi

as a fresh cartridge cannot be inserted in the cartridge chamber untilthe latter is cleared. v My invention aims to provide an extractor whichwill enable the broken shell to be quickly and surely removed, .and thisWithout injury to the gun and without expenditure of unnecessary'force.

The features and aims of my invention will be best understood from thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings of one preferred embodiment of the invention, the. invention inits true scope being set forthby the claims. 1. ,1

In the drawings: Figure l is a plan view, partly. in section,

of the breech portion of a rifle showing the cartridge chamber,automatic extractor and.

a broken cartridge shell in the cartridge chamber, together with theillustrative embodiment of my invention herein described,

in-place ready to function;

Fig. 2 is anelevation of the illustrative Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectionof the ein my invention herein. dep slots 21, extending fromitsforward end-- said shell-edge-engaging means 'in' position to maintainits engagement with the forwardedge of the shell during such withdrawal.. At its rear end the device is provided wlth means tobeengagedby the autoerably -with means to prevent the device from being insertedtoo far, or driven into 'the breech by the extractor when used in arear-m using rimless cartridges, sucli as the iprmgfield rifle used inthe United States rmy. y y

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of .matic extractor of the gun orrifle and pref-v I the drawings, the illustrative embodiment ofmyinvention comprises a rod 2 having one end 4 removably secured in aplug 6 by screw -threadedengagement with a screwthreaded bore 8'providedcentrally of the latter. The plug 6 is provided with an exfullydescribed, sai with a shoulder 16 at its junction with said conicalportion 12. The rod 2 is surternally ta ered sleeve-like extension 10surrounding t e rear portion of the rod 2.

witha'conical portion 12 terminating in a head 14, for a pur osehereinafter more head being provided rounded by a sleevejof, springmetal 18, having its rear portion 20 received Within the sleeve-likeextension 10 of the plug- 6 when-the device is assembled, said sleeveand rod being nally and sai extension 10 actin as a guide for saidsleeve. Said sleeve '18 1s provided with two or more, herein three,longitudinal At its forward end the rod 2 is provided-* relativelymovable longitudibackward. to within a suitable distance of its pressureexerted laterally upon the head 22 thereof. This clearance is securedwithout reducing the diameter or strength of the rod or stem 2, bytapering or flaring the bore of the sleeve at its forward end, this alsoreinto the annular groove justin front of said collar, so that When thebreech bolt is thrown back to open the breech, the automatic extractor38 draws the empty shell out of the cartridge chamber. 7

The operation of my novel extractor is as follows: Assuming that onopening the breech it is foundthat the cartridge shell 42 is brokenwithin the chamber, as shown by the dotted line in Fig. l, for example,so that it cannot be extracted by the automatic extractor '38, myimproved extractor is placed in the breech and the breech bolt issulting in making the end portion of the\thrown forward, closing thebreech. In this sleeve relatively more resilient than the mid v portionthereof.

The head 14, as shown, is rounded or beveled from its tip toward itssides and rear and presents to the walls of the cartridge shells, whenit is inserted therein, a smooth unyielding and unshouldered penetratingtip adapted to open up a passage-way for the split-head 22, the forwardend of which is shown as of substantially the same diameter as the head14. At its rear end the plug 6 is provided with a collar 26 to beengaged by the automatic extractor of the gun or rifle, and preferablyalso with a stop collar or shoulder 28, to limit the penetration of thedevice into the cartridge chamber, the device being of such a lengththat when the stop 28. abuts against the forward end wall 30 of thebreech, Fig. 1, the shoulder 24'will be outside the forward end of theexploded shell. The collar 26 should be of substantially the samediameter as the corresponding part on the shell to be exploded. The

stop-shoulder 28 will be at such a distance from the collar 26 that thelatter will be sufiiciently spaced from the end wall 30 of .the breechto be readily seized by the auto- 'matic extractor of the firearm, saidcollar 26 occupying then substantially the same position that thecorresponding rimor collar of a cartridge would occupy when the latteris in the cartridge chamber.

In Fig. 1 the usual automatic extractor is shown said extractor being ofwell-known and usual construction and consisting briefly of a member 32of resilient metal extending along the breech bolt 34 to which it isrevolubly secured by a collar 36 at a point intermediate the two freeends of said extractor. The forward end of'the automatic extractor isprovided with a beveled lip 38, which may be said to constitute theextractor proper. When the breech bolt is pushed forward to drive acartridge home into the cartridge chamber, the lip 38 yields away fromthe breech bolt, on encountering the rear rim of the cartridge, owing tothe resiliency of the member 32, and the lip 38 snaps over said rear rimof the cartridge shell, or in the case of a rimless cartridge, over thenarrower rear collar of the cartridge shell and operation the devicewill be driven forward into the cartridge chamber and inside the brokenshell, until the stop 28. abuts against the end wall 30 of the breech.In this operation the normally expanded front end 22 of the .resilientsplit sleeve 18, by its engagement with the inner wall of the shell,will momentarily arrest the forward movement of said sleeve 18 until theconical portion 12 of the rod 2 has moved out of the front end of thesleeve 18 and the rear end of the latter is encountered by the bottom ofthe sleeve-like extension 10 of the plug 6, whereupon said sleeve willbe compressed by the engagement of its front end 22 with the inner wallof the shell, and the sleeve will move forward with the rod 2. About thetime the stop 28 arrests thefurther entrance of the device into thecartridge chamber, the front end 22 emergts from the front end of theshell and expands by its spring action, so that the shoulder 24 is infront of the front edge of the shell. In driving the device home intothe cartridge chamber, the automatic extractor 38 has snapped over theannular collar 26 and into the annular space between said collar and thestop 28. ,If now the breech bolt be drawn back to open the breech in theusual way, the automatic extractor will withdraw the device from thecartridge .chamber. In this operation the rod 2 will first be drawnbackwardly relatively to the sleeve 18, the latter being temporarilyheld against rearward movement by engagement of its shoulder 24 with thefront edge of the exploded shell, until the conical portion 12 of saidrod has entered the conical openin in the front end 22 of the'sleeve andthe sioulder 16 of the head 14 of the rod has engaged the front edge ofportion 22 of the sleeve 18, whereuponin the continued rearwardmovement-of the device under the action of the automatic extractor 38,the sleeve 18, and

- with it the broken shell, will be Withdrawn,

naraeoa and unshouldered guide for the extractor; 'flhis is adapted tocriteria. contracted openmg, each as be formed by jagged, split,

the-rod 2 fits the bore of the barrel. The efi'ect of this is tomaintain the whole device,

' of the shoulder 16 with a curs there is an absence of a propercoiiper-' and more particularly the rod2 and head 22, centered duringthe operation of the devicein Withdraw ng the broken shell, thusassuring aproper, and adequate engagement the front edge of the head 22.and of the shoulder 24 with the frontedge of the broken cartridge shell.In

the absence of the .guide 14:, the device, and. the front end of the rod2,.

particularlv would be liable to deviate from their true ency to deviatefrom their axial position being due in part to the fact that theautomatic extractor of the firearm. engages and exerts its rearward pullupon one side only of the; collar 26. .Where such deviation ocatlOn ofthe shoulder 16 with the front edge of the sleeve 18 and of the shoulder24 of the resilient head 22 with the front edgeio'f the broken cartridgeshell. Such deviation is also liable to cause the device to bind in thecartridge chamber, The result is that the automatic extractor isliableto release the collar 26'withou t withdrawing-the device, or thedevice is withdrawn without.

the broken cartridge shell.

The expansion or spreading apart of the inwardly flared or obstructingshell walls by the passage of the head 14, and the shoul-.

.dered end 22 of the sleeve, is followed by theentrance of the sleeve10,- the tapered shape of which further expands and opens the passagewayfor the plug 6, permitting device into i the entrance of the extractingthe broken cartridge shell for the full .re'

.' quired depth without conflict with the broken fragments or flared orbulging por-f tions thereof.

It will be noted that the part 12 of .the rod head 14;, and the frontportion 22 of the sleeve, are go shaped that the part 12 in 'en teringthe expandedlfront portion of the sleeve when the device is operatedwill not.

further expand the front portion ofthe sleeve but will simply lockitagainst contraction. This prevents undesirable outward pressure by thehead- 22 on the inner surface of the barrel when theshell is extracted.

' While I have herein described one speor the cific embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that the invention is not to beconsidered as limited to the details described,

nor anyiof them, but that said embodiment may be variously modifiedwithin the true Scope of my invention, which is more particularly setforth inthe claims.

Claims:

' 1. A device -for extracting broken care.

said resilient means in engagement with the front edge of the cartridgeshell, guide means to 'fit within the barrel in advance of.

the cartridge chamber to guide and center said device when the latterisoperated, and means-to be engaged by the automaticex axial position inthe cartridge chamber dur-- o tractor of the firearm whereby when saidving the operation'of the device, such tend.--

against contraction when moved into en-' gagement with the front edge ofthe car tridge shell without further expanding said resilient means;guide means to fit within the barrel in advance of the cartridge chamherto ide and center said device when the latter is operated, and means tobe engaged by the automatic extractor of the firearm whereby when saidautomatic extractor is operated it will extract said device andcartridge shell from the cartridge chamber without further expandingsaid device.

' 3. A device for extracting broken car- ,tridge shells from-fireams,said device being .adapted to be inserted into the broken shell lodgedin the cartridge chamber and comatter, and to engage the front edge ofing adapted .to be. inserted into the broken 7 broken she l f lodged" inthev cartridge chamber, and comprising, in combination, a split sleeveof res silient materialadapted to extend through the broken cartridgeshell, when said device is inserted in the latter, a shoulder adjacentthe front end of said sleeve to engage the front, edge of the brokenshell; a .rod extending through said sleeve and movable lengthwiserelatively to the latter, a collar:

. provided upon said rod adjacent its rear end to be engaged by theautomatic extractor of the firearm, a stop upon said rod adjacent saidcollar to limit the penetration of the device into the cartridgechamber, a

head provided upon said rod adjacent its front end fitting the 'bore ofthe barrel and panding the same, and a shoulder to engage.

the front edge of said sleeveflvhereby when said automatic extractor isoperated after engaging said collar, it will draw said rod backwardlyrelatively to said sleeve and ML .ally of the latter to cause saidlockin part to enter the front end of the sleeve an lock the shoulder ofthe latter in expanded engagement with the front edge of the brokencartridge without further expanding said sleeve and bring the shoulderof said rod into enga ement with the front edge of said sleeve, wereupon continued operation of said automatic extractor will withdrawsaid device and with it the broken shell from the cartridge chamber.

4:. A. device for extracting broken cartridgeshells from fire-arms, saiddevice being adapted. to be inserted in the broken car tridge shelllodged in the cartridge chambegand comprising, in combination, resilientmeans adapted to pass "through the broken cartridge shell, when saiddevice is inserted into the latter, and to engage the front edge of saidshell; means to lock said resilient means in engagement with the frontedgev of the cartridge shell; an unyielding, penetrating guide memberhaving smooth,

eveled'walls adapted, as the device is inserted'into the brokencartridge shell, to

penetrate the passage in advance of said resilient means and force opensaid passage;

and means to be engaged'by the automatic extractor of the fire-armwhereby, when said automatic extractor is operated, .it will extractsaid broken shell from the cartridge chamber.

5. A device for extracting broken car.-

tridge shells from fire-arms, said device being adapted to be insertedin the broken cartridge shell lodged in the cartridge chamber, andcomprising, in combination, a split to penetrate the walls of the brokencartridge shell, as the device is inserted into the latter, and openapassage for the sleeve, and with a locking part to fit within theshouldered front end of the sleeve, when said rod is drawn rearwardly,and lock the front end of said sleeve against contraction; a plu towhich the rear end of said rod is detac ably secured, said plugpresenting means adapted to be en aged by the automatic extractor of there-arm, and a tapered front portion adapted also to penetrate and spreadthe walls of the broken cartridge shell when said device is insertedinto the latter.

6. A device for extracting broken cartridge shells from fire-arms, saiddevice comprising a tapered plug having means connected therewith to beengaged by the extractor ofthe fire-arm; a stem detachably securedthereto and carrying at its forward end a guiding head having smoothbeveled walls adapted to penetrate and spread apart the walls of thebroken cartridge shell and open a passage through the latter; andextracting means having relative movement .on said stem and presentingresilient members with shouldered portions adapted to yield and passthrough the front portion of the cartridge shell but thereafter toexpand and position said shouldered portions in advance I of the frontedge of the cartridge shell, said HERBERT WALLACE.

